Fairview Museum of History and Art

Description:

The museum is full of historical data, artifacts pictures and artwork. Part of the museum is the Natural History Building which houses a full scale replica of a nearly fully intact Columbian mammoth. The mammoth was unearthed on the nearby Wasatch Plateau in 1988 while excavating the Huntington Reservoir.

The quality of the find, plus the altitude at which it was found, make this mammoth unique. Besides being remarkably well preserved, other factors are adding scientific significance to the discovery. These are the bones of an animal that lived a relatively short 10,000 years ago and died at an unusually high elevation of 9600’ (Mammoths have always been regarded as lowland grazers).

The skeletal remains of this animal were preserved in a peat bog where he died some 10,000 years ago. The bones were not fossilized and were so well preserved that scientific testing has accurately fixed the date of the animal’s demise.

Amino acids and DNA have also been identified and it has been determined that the animal was 65 years old when he died. He had suffered from arthritis, as evidence by obvious deformities present on the bones and must have been in pain when he moved about.

Material found in the rib cage indicated that the animal’s last meal included pine trees. Perhaps of greatest interest to the public at large was the discovery of projectile points with the bones indicating possible interaction between humans and the animal.

The work of one of Utah’s most famous artists, Avard T. Fairbanks, is also on display at the Fairview Museum.